Goodan Ranch visitors center to be dedicated Thursday

ANDREA MOSS - Staff Writer

POWAY - Four years after a historical stone house in the Goodan
Ranch preserve burned to the ground in the massive Cedar fire,
representatives of four different agencies are ready to unveil the
$1.5 million visitors and ranger center that replaces the lost
building.

Officials from the county of San Diego, the cities of Poway and
Santee, and the state Fish and Game Department will hold a grand
opening celebration and ribbon-cutting at 2 p.m. Thursday in front
of the $1.5 million, environmentally friendly center, whose doors
will then officially be opened to visitors.

The public can get to the event by parking in the preserve's
staging areas at 13920 Highway 67 or 16281 Sycamore Canyon Road.
Shuttle buses will pick up and deliver passengers to and from those
sites.

Organizers originally planned to hold the grand opening Oct. 27.
They were forced to reschedule after the Witch Creek fire broke out
Oct. 22 - a date within a week of the Cedar fire's anniversary.

"It was definitely unexpected," county district park manager
Cailin Hunsaker said Friday of the fateful twist. "I personally
thought that the Cedar fire was going to be 'once in a lifetime.'
"

The Witch Creek fire burned from Ramona to Rancho Santa Fe, and
destroyed virtually all of Blue Sky Ecological Reserve on the north
end of Poway.

Goodan Ranch, jointly by the Poway, Santee, the county and the
state wildlife agency, is being held up as an example of what
people can expect to see in terms of fire recovery at Blue Sky.

Nestled in the northern part of the 2,143-acre Sycamore Canyon
Open Space Area, Goodan Ranch drew hikers, equestrians and other
outdoor enthusiasts from throughout the region before the Cedar
fire, because of the preserve's rural setting and links to trails
that stretch from Poway south to Santee.

The fact that the 1930s-era stone ranch house and several
outbuildings were still intact only alluded to the preserve's
prefire appeal.

Most were destroyed by the Cedar fire, which also caused
extensive damage to the entire open space area. The ranch was
insured, and members of the nonprofit group Friends of Goodan Ranch
and other preserve supporters lobbied for the stone house's
restoration.

However, officials with the county, which oversees the preserve,
said such a project would be too costly. After months of public
debate, they opted to replace the house with the new visitors and
ranger building.

The 3,200-square-foot building took about a year to build and
includes rooftop photovoltaic panels that generate much of the
energy needed for the center. Other "green" features include
recycled construction materials, an indirect cooling system and
energy-efficient doors and windows.

The fenced ruins of the ranch house pay tribute to the original
structure just a few yards away.

Friends of Goodan Ranch President Carol Crafts said the group's
members helped collect materials that explain the history of the
ranch, the area around it, the Goodan family and the Cedar fire.
San Diego Archaeological Center Director Cindy Stankowski helped
assemble the items into "excellent" exhibits that now fill the
visitor center's interior, Crafts said.

Meanwhile, plants and animals have been steadily returning to
the preserve since it burned. Hunsaker estimated it is about 50
percent recovered from the fire, with deer, a relatively rare type
of raptor called the black-tailed kite, red-tailed hawks and the
occasional mountain lion among the wildlife visible these days.

"The vegetation is all there," she said. "The seed bank did its
job in helping regenerate the native types of plants. But it's
still more sparsely populated than you would see in an area with
mature growth."

Hunsaker said the county is seeking a volunteer to work in the
preserve 20 hours a week as a caretaker in exchange for being
allowed to install a fifth-wheel trailer or recreational vehicle on
the property. Utility hookups are available, she said.

Log on to
www.sdparks.org
for information about Goodan Ranch, the new visitors center or thevolunteer opportunity.